Hunt for Vengeance: Part IV
As the Dawnguard members took Jo'Khar away, Elvali Ramarys thought to herself. Jo'Khar was wise to surrender, they outnumber us 2 to 1. Even with our skills, those odds meant that we weren't all getting out of this alive. When they headed down the stairway, the Dunmer looked over at the other Khajiit, who was still processing the revelation that Jo'Khar was a vampire. J'Dhannar stood there in silence, still shocked at the news. "We need to get out of here." The she-elf stated. "Fenrig, that Vampire Lord, might send men back here to finish us off." When the Khajiit didn't reply, she walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What...yeah, we should." The priest managed to say. Elvali sighed. "Look, it wasn't Jo'Khar's choice to become a vampire. Morgan turned him against his will when he killed his family. I already knew, but he probably didn't tell you because he feared this is how you would react." J'Dhannar looked at the Dunmer, she seemed sincere in her words. "Alright...this one understands." He picked himself up, snapping out of his state of shock. The two then left Darklight Tower and put some distance between them and the structure before one of them brought up the subject. "So, what now?" he asked. "The Dawnguard no doubt took Jo'Khar to their fort, so we head there." Elvali suggested. She was having conflicting thoughts about why she wanted to go there. I must make sure that he dies and doesn't escape from the Dawnguard, I need to fulfill my mission from Morgan. Was her initial thought, but she kept feeling worried about the Khajiit's safety. It was that worry that made her question the reasoning behind her decision. For now she pushed those thoughts aside and along with the priest began heading to Fort Dawnguard. When they got close to the fort, Elvali and J'Dhannar became more cautious. The only way to the Fort Dawnguard valley was through a cave, that no doubt would be guarded. For the Dunmer it would be rather easy to make it past any Dawnguard, but she had the Khajiit with her so she had to take it slow. They sneaked their way through the cave, waiting for the Dawnguard guards to pass them by before continuing. After plenty of effort they made it to the valley, but now they had the issue of infiltrating the fort. While they thought of a plan they hid in the surrounding trees. It was dark outside, which helped them to stay hidden from the Dawnguard. What in Oblivion are we going to do? Climbing up might work...but that will make it easy to spot us. The only other way inside is through the front gate. But that will alert them to our presence immediately. Damn it... Elvali thought. She couldn't think of any way to get to Jo'Khar, let alone get him out after they found him. After a while she figured something out. She turned to the Khajiit that was crouching next to her. "J'Dhannar, I'm going to need you to cause a distraction and attract as many of the Dawnguard to the front of the valley as you can. Only then will I be able to sneak in." The Khajiit was a bit unsure at first, but he quickly pushed those thoughts aside. "Right. Jo'Khar is this one's friend, being a vampire doesn't change that. The Dawnguard will not kill him today!" He said rather enthusiastically. With both of them on board, Elvali sneaked off to get closer to the fort. The priest used some flint and steel to start a fire in the bushes, trying to catch the attention of the Dawnguard. It took until the fire began to grow more wild until the Dawnguard finally took notice. A group of them, led by the same Nord woman as before came running to lake with buckets to get water. Elvali knew that it wasn't enough, but the fire would at least keep them distracted long enough for her to sneak in. When the Dawnguard charged out of the large double with the buckets, she sneaked in before the doors were closed. Once inside, she looked around, trying to find any sign of the Khajiit. As soon as she entered, however, she encountered more Dawnguard. Luckily for her the fort wasn't too well lit, despite the torches that were mounted on the stone walls, so in the dark of night she was able to stick to the shadows and avoid the hunters. "What is going on outside?" An old Redguard demanded. "Commander, there is a fire in the valley. Runa went with a few men to put it out before it spreads." A Dawnguard reported. Elvali ignored them and continued through the fort. Where would they keep Jo'Khar? A dungeon, more than likely. She searched around quickly and couldn't find any stairs down to a dungeon. Do they not have a dungeon? Where do they keep their prisoners then... It was then that she remembered that the Dawnguard were not ones to take prisoners, which is why she was surprised when they didn't kill Jo'Khar back at Darklight Tower. They must be keeping him somewhere though.... She decided to look elsewhere and stumbled into the wing containing the quarters. There she was extremely careful so as to not run into any Dawnguard. Near the end of the hall she spotted him. Jo'Khar was just standing around peaking out of a room, not in chains or anything. What in Oblivion is going on? Why isn't he locked up? "What is happening?" Jo'Khar asked, having been awoken from his sleep because of the commotion. One of the nearby hunters was going to reply but then the Khajiit sensed a similar smell. He looked around before being pulled into his room. Inside he came face to face with Elvali. "Shush" She told him quietly. "I'm here to get you out." "Elvali..." He began to say, but she interrupted him. "Quiet. Just follow me. J'Dhannar is distracting the Dawnguard outside." She whispered and let go of the Khajiit. She then crouched down and motioned for him to follow her outside. Jo'Khar stood there, not going. "Come on, we can't delay." She urged him. The vampire still didn't budge, which irritated Elvali. She got up and poked him in the chest. "I come all this way to help you and you don't cooperate. What is your problem?" Jo'Khar was going to try to explain to her the situation when they heard footsteps outside. Elvali lunged at the Khajiit and covered his mouth. "Shh." She told him. They could hear a little bit of the coversation happening outside. "So it was the same Khajiit from back at the tower?" an elderly man asked. "Yes." A woman replied, from her voice Elvali could tell she was the same one from Darklight Tower. "So I suspect this was supposed to be a rescue of sorts." Elvali drew her dagger as the footsteps got closer. The door to Jo'Khar's room opened and the woman and an old Redguard were standing in the doorway. Elvali tried to attack, but Jo'Khar grabbed her. "Stand down Elvali. We neededn't fight them." The vampire told her. "This one has made a deal with the Dawnguard." "A deal?" She asked confused. "Yes." The old Redguard explained. "Your friend here won't be killed as long as he helps us track down those other 3 vampires and kill them. He assured us that he knows where they are." No he doesn't...but I do. She thought. Elvali looked over at the Khajiit. You lied to them because you figured I would tell you. What makes you think I would sell out my fellow Blackhearts? She was tempted to refuse him the information, but found herself saying. "He does, they are not far from here." What? Why am I saying this. Is it because Fenrig is that much of an ass, or something else... "Good." The Redguard said. "I'll be assigning Runa here to go with you and a unit of Dawnguard to deal with the vampire tomorrow. For now I'll have to ask you to leave. The vampires stays here with us but you and the other Khajiit will need to stay outside the fort. I'll not have you running around inside freely at night." "Go Elvali." Jo'Khar told her. "Do as they say. Tomorrow we will leave to hunt down that vampire." The Dunmer nodded. She wasn't going to try anything with the Dawnguard present there. "Alright. J'Dhannar and I will be camping outside." She left the fort and headed outside. The priest was being restrained by two Dawnguard members, but they let go of him when she approached. "What happened?" J'Dhannar asked. "Jo'Khar has agreed to aid the Dawnguard in exchange for sparing his life." She explained. The khajiit nodded. "Very well." The two set up a camp at the edge of the valley and stayed there for the night. The next morning, Elvali woke up early and laid in wait at the camp for Jo'Khar and the unit of Dawnguard to arrive. An hour after the sun was up they did. Runa led them to the camp. "We are to be off then. Your vampire friend says that you are the one that can lead us to the other vampires." Runa said to the Dunmer. She nodded. "Yes. They are held up in Autumnwatch Tower, in the mountains in the western part of the Rift." She revealed. Runa placed a hand on her hip. "Then let's go, we're burning daylight." Elvali agreed. She stood up and grabbed her things. The priest did the same. The group left the valley and headed west, towards the tower. They arrived sometime later. Runa was leading the operation so she ordered everyone to get ready. She drew her axe and took out her shield. The others grabbed their weapons, while Jo'Khar readied his spells. "We should expect traps inside." Elvali told them. "The vampires will be expecting us." She wasn't so sure about that, but Blackheart bases usually had traps set up near the entrance just in case someone stumbled in. Let's hope it is just Fenrig and his subordinates in there, else I might get in trouble for helping the Dawnguard. If Morgan hears of this...he might never forgive me. Autumnwatch Tower was in fact, a pair of towers. The southern one being the smallest of the two. A decade ago the place had been the lair of a dragon, but he had long since been killed. The group had followed the dirt road all the way to the front of the southern tower. "Sir, will we be splitting up to search both towers simultaneously?" A Dawnguard member asked. "No." Runa Fair-Shield replied. "We stick together. Who knows how many vampires are hiding in each of the towers. We need to act with caution." "A sound plan." Jo'Khar agreed. As they walked up to the tower entrance, Elvali Ramarys got the feeling that they were being watched. She looked up at the top of the northern tower. "They know we are here." she told the group. Navigation Category:Stories